


High School at Thirty-Thousand Feet

by RainbowVigilante



Series: Sky High/The Flash (TV) Fusion [1]
Category: Sky High (2005), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - High School, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Pre-Poly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7879759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowVigilante/pseuds/RainbowVigilante
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris West is the daughter of Joe and Francine West — but you'd know them as the Commander and Jetstream, Earth's Mightiest Heroes!  Iris is going to Sky High to follow in their footsteps.  Too bad she doesn't have any superpowers (but don't tell her dad that).</p><p>Barry Allen is the son of Henry Allen, better known as the Comet, the most notorious former superhero ever.  The Comet was unmasked just before he was convicted of murdering his wife, Nora Allen.  Barry has flown under the radar as a normal teenager, but now he's going to be attending Sky High, where everyone will know his family history.</p><p>Cisco Ramon is the son of Adriana Ramon, perhaps the most powerful superhero to ever fight the forces of evil.  Unfortunately, Cisco can't quite get a handle on his own powers, and his brother is never going to let him live it down.</p><p>High school is going to be tough.</p><p>(For Flashvibe Summer Week 2016, day 5 [Free Day].  ...Also for day 1 [AU Day] and day 3 [Poly Day].)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Sky High fusion AU. Some characters from the movie will appear (such as Coach Boomer and Principal Powers), but this won't include the main cast (as you may be able to tell from the description).
> 
> This isn't tagged as underage because the rating won't exceed PG-13 (and that will most likely be for typical superhero style violence). I don't usually like writing high school AUs but... it's Sky High.
> 
> I haven't edited this, so please provide feedback! Pointing out sections that could be fleshed out or reworded is helpful, as is pointing out dialogue that stretches believability for the character (even taking into account that this is an AU). Please be gentle, but also don't be afraid to offer constructive criticism! Seriously, I would love your input.
> 
> I think that covers it. Read on!

Seven in the morning on a Monday, and Iris West was actually awake.  So much for summer.

“Iris!” Joe called up the stairs.  “You’re going to be late!”

She opened her door an inch.  “In a minute, Dad!”  Turning back to the exercise bench by the window, she began to set up her daily charade.  Thanks to a faulty alarm, Iris was cutting it pretty close to the wire.  She laid down on the bench and used every muscle she had to lift the weights above her even half an inch.  Her dad would barge into her room in three… two… one…

There was a loud knock.  “Iris!”  Joe burst through the door carrying a bright red sweatshirt, definitely Barry’s.

Iris let the weights shift back into place on the bench.  They hardly ever moved from that spot.  “I’m almost ready, Dad,” Iris assured him.  She got up and made a show of stretching.

“Just getting in a few before school, huh?” Joe commented, glowing with pride.  “I used to do the same thing.  You have all your books?”

“Yes, Dad,” Iris said with a roll of her eyes.  “Not that we’ll open them – it’s the first day.”

“I know, I know,” said Joe with a grin.  “I can’t help it!  My kids are going to high school.  Soon, college—”

“Oh, God,” moaned Iris, “please don’t start with this again—”

“And you’ll move out and forget about your old man—”

“That’s four years away, Dad!  Now go bother Barry; I have to change.”  Iris made a shooing motion with her hands.

Holding his hands up in surrender, Joe backed out of the doorway.  “Barry isn’t up yet,” he admitted.  “I couldn’t think of a good reason to wake him up, ‘cause, you know—”  A blur shot past Iris’s door.

“Super speed,” Iris finished.

%%%

It took another five minutes to finish getting ready, but Iris and Barry were both at the bus stop and ready to head off for their first day of school.  Except—

“Joe, it’s not that we don’t appreciate it—”

Iris cut Barry off.  “It’s embarrassing,” she said, putting it bluntly.  “You’re great, number one Dad and I mean that, but you’re also literally world famous.  It would be nice to start school without this level of…” Iris trailed off, gesturing at Joe.  “Notoriety.”

Joe frowned, seemingly upset.  “I feel like I should be hurt by that.”

“Dad—”

“Joe—”

“No, I get it,” Joe said with a smile revealing itself.  “It’s your first day of high school and you don’t need me calling attention.  Just promise me, both of you, be safe?  Stay away from the edge of the grounds, all right?”

“What do you mean?” asked Barry, exchanging a glance with Iris.  “The school’s downtown, right?”

“You’ll see,” Joe replied.  “Now give me a hug, you two.”  Iris and Barry both hugged Joe before he headed back inside.

Barry turned his attention to Iris.  “So you still haven’t told Joe that you don’t have superpowers.”

“Drop it.”

“He’s going to find out eventually.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Iris snapped.  She looked at Barry and could see he was hurt.  That boy was never going to win at poker.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—I know he’s going to find out.  I just thought I’d have my powers by now.  I mean, don’t most kids with superhero parents have powers?  And I have two!  …Had.”

Barry put a hand on her shoulder.  “Iris—”

They could hear the school bus turn the corner.  It was time to face the beast.  Iris shrugged out of Barry’s grip and took hold of her messenger bag.  “It’s fine, Barr.  Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

Finding one double seat unclaimed, Iris and Barry settled in for the ride.  Most of the kids around them seemed to know each other.  There was one kid alone in the seat next to them, but judging by the intense glare he was giving his book from behind his glasses, he didn’t want to be disturbed.  “We’re not going to know anyone, are we?”  Iris looked over at Barry.  “It’s only powered kids.  And me.”

“It probably won’t be too bad,” Barry said, nerves showing.  “I mean, we’re freshmen, so we’ll probably have a pretty standard curriculum,” he reasoned.  “You can probably hide that you don’t have powers yet.”

“That’s true,” Iris granted.  “And there’ll be other kids who don’t know anyone.  And we’ll make friends.”

“You’ll make friends,” corrected Barry.

“No, we’ll both make friends,” Iris retorted with feeling.  “You’re a sweet guy, Barry.  And this is superhero school!  With your powers—”

“I was thinking maybe I wouldn’t use my powers at school.”

Iris froze, struck speechless.  Super speed was a highly respected and coveted power.  Iris would have given her right arm to have powers like Barry.  “Barry, why—”

Suddenly, the bus lurched.  The bus driver called out, “Hold onto your seats, kids!”

“Iris, did Joe say anything about—”

“Flying?”  Iris watched the ground as the trees and cars became smaller, and smaller.  “No, Barry.  He did not.”

%%%

When Joe had told Barry about “Sky High”, Barry had assumed that was a nickname.  So had Iris.  That could not be further from the case.

“The school flys,” Barry whispered to Iris, eyes wide.

“Barry,” Iris said calmly, “we’re in the middle of orientation.  I am aware the school flys.”  They were, in fact, in the middle of freshman orientation.  A crowd of about forty other students surrounded them while a senior explained how not to fall off the edge of the school grounds.

“But the power it must take to keep the entire building in the air—”

A voice came from Barry’s left.  “I know, right?  The schematics are crazy levels of top secret, though.  I requested them but they said something about security clearance, and how I wasn’t even in high school yet.  Ageists.”

Barry swiveled his head so fast, he barely seemed to move.  No way, he thought, was that really—  “Cisco?”  Sure enough, there he was.  Cisco Ramon.  Barry had met him through physics club at his and Iris’s old middle school and never, not once, had he ever mentioned having superpowers.  “What are you doing here, man?” Barry asked, bringing Cisco in for a hug.  Wow, he smelled good.  No, Barry, that’s a creepy thought to have about your friend.  Stop it.

Cisco laughed into Barry’s hoodie.  Pulling away, he said, “Same as you, I guess.  Superpowers?”

“Yeah, super speed,” Barry confirmed, watching Cisco with awe.  “I had no idea that— What about you?”

Something flickered across Cisco’s face, but it disappeared in a flash.  “It’s hard to explain, man,” he said uncomfortably.  “But I guess you’ll see anyway when we go through power placement, so—”

“Sorry,” Iris interrupted.  “What’s power placement?”

Cisco looked over at Iris like he was only just now noticing she was there.  “They sort us into the hero or sidekick class based on our powers.  They call the sidekick class ‘hero support’, though,” he explained, grimacing.  “I think ‘hero support’ just means you suck.  Which does not seem like the sort of thing teachers should be tellings us at this delicate stage of our emotional development.”

Barry glanced over at Iris.  Pure terror was written across her face.  This wasn’t going to be good.

%%%

This was going to be a bloodbath.  Iris could see it so very clearly.  Coach Boomer stood in front of the freshman class, explaining how he was going to determine what class they’d be in.  It was Iris’s worst nightmare.

“Abernathy!”  A small girl with blue hair climbed up onto the platform to stand in front of Coach Boomer.  “Show me what you got.”  The girl proceeded to burn a hole in the far wall… with lasers.  Coming from her eyes.  Boomer nodded appreciatively and made a note on his clipboard.  “Not bad.  Hero!  Next up… Allen!”

“Um,” Barry stammered.  Iris gave him a once over.  He looked even more nervous than she felt.  “I was just wondering, I mean… We won’t receive training pertaining to our abilities until next year?  So, what’s—”

Coach Boomer strode to the edge of the stage to look down at Barry.  “I said, Allen!  And I won’t say it again!”

Iris could see the moment Barry considered not going up.  She didn’t understand why, though.  He had never mentioned anything about not powering up at school until that day.  Barry’s eyes darted back and forth before he set his eyes on the ground.  He climbed up and walked over to Boomer.

Boomer sneered at him, pen at the ready.  “Alright, let’s go!” he yelled.  A wave of sound pushed forward, forcing Barry to slide back a few inches.  Then Barry was gone.  “What the—”

The other freshman started looking around the gym, asking each other if they saw where the kid went.  Iris just rolled her eyes.  For someone so reluctant to demonstrate his powers, Barry sure liked to put on a show.

A streak, and short shocks of lightning, shot through the gym.  Barry stopped on the stage, and handed Coach Boomer a cookie.  “From the cafeteria,” he said.  Iris gave him a thumbs up from the crowd and a bright smile lit up his face.

Whispers erupted from the other students.  Iris watched as the smile slid off Barry’s face, his eyes turning down to stare at the floor.  She could hear them asking, “Allen?”  “As in Henry Allen, the Comet?”  “Didn’t the Comet kill his wife?”  “He’s gotta be.  Another speedster with the last name Allen?”  “He’s in prison now, I think.  Is that his son?”

Oh God.  Iris suddenly realized why Barry hadn’t wanted to show his powers.  Of course everyone would figure out that he was the Comet’s son.  The case had been legendary.  Henry Allen, revealed in court to be the Comet, had been convicted of murdering his wife, Nora.  Eyewitnesses had described a speedster as her attacker; the case was open and shut.  It was the first case in which a superhero had been convicted of murder, and everyone knew about it.  But until now, no one had known the name of his son.

“Very nice, Allen.  Hero!  Now get off the stage!” shouted Coach Boomer, ushering Barry off the stage.  “Cain!”

Iris shoved her way up to the front to meet Barry as he came down.  “Barry—”

“It’s fine,” he mumbled, shoving past her and heading to the back of the group.

“Barry!”  Iris followed him.  She grabbed Barry’s arm and pulled, forcing him to turn around.  He didn’t meet her eyes.  “It’s not fine, Barr,” she insisted.  “It’s not fine, and it’s okay if you’re not fine.  Why didn’t you talk to me about this?”

“It’s just…”  Barry made a vague gesture, looking up to the ceiling.  “You were so worried!  You were worried about your powers, and I didn’t want to pile on!” he said so earnestly, finally looking at her.

“You can always talk to me,” said Iris.  She moved her hand up to hold his other arm, smoothing the fabric of his sweatshirt.  “Okay?  You can always talk to me.  Tell me you know that.”

“I know,” Barry wavered, biting his lip.  “I know.  I just didn’t want to pile on, and I didn’t realize I’d have to power up on the first day, and… I felt like I should be able to handle this by now, I guess.”  Barry smiled at Iris weakly.

Iris rubbed Barry’s arm comfortingly and tried to find the right words.  Then Barry looked over her shoulder.

“You okay, Barry?” she heard Cisco ask quietly.  Of course.

“Yeah, Cisco, I’ll be fine,” Barry answered, smile brightening just a little.  Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  She wasn’t sure what it was about Cisco that annoyed her.  She had never spent a lot of time with him, really; he was Barry’s friend, not hers.  Iris could even admit that he seemed like a really nice, if excitable, guy.  Still, for some reason, Iris and Cisco had never gotten along very well.

Cisco and Barry kept chatting while Coach Boomer placed other students into their classes.  Iris listened in and contributed occasionally, but mostly kept watching the stage as her doom approached ever closer.

“Iris?  You doing alright?” Barry asked, tugging lightly on her sleeve.  Cisco looked over with curiosity.

“Peachy,” she said.  Iris brought her hand up and bit at her thumbnail, imagining scenarios.  Would they kick her out of school?  No, she’d get her powers later, right?  And they couldn’t just put her in a normal high school until then.  Probably.

“At least you only have to go through placement once, right?” Cisco remarked.

“Right,” Iris said doubtfully.  If she was lucky, her powers would kick in right that second.  Or the next second.  Hopefully before she went on stage.

“Alright!” called Coach Boomer, blowing his whistle once.  Several freshmen in the crowd covered their ears.  “Time to go to lunch!  We’ll meet up back here in half an hour!”

“Thank God,” muttered Iris, hoisting her bag up on her shoulder.  She turned to Barry and Cisco.  If Cisco was Barry’s friend and going to high school with them, she might as well try to get to know the guy.  “Lunch?  Cisco?”

“Yeah, I’m down,” Cisco replied, eyeing Barry with concern.  Barry nodded, seeming more upbeat.  His trial was over, for better or worse.  Iris knew hers was just ahead.

%%%

Cisco’s mind was racing.  Barry was Barry Allen, son of Henry Allen, the most notorious former superhero in… ever.  Cisco hadn’t even known Barry had superpowers.  He had assumed he would be totally alone at Sky High.

Well, except for Dante.  Cisco looked over at the table his brother was sitting at.  He claimed it was “reserved for certified basasses”.  What a jerk, Cisco thought to himself, surveying the crowd Dante called his friends.  He told Cisco they called themselves “the Rogues”.  They sounded pretty full of themselves, in Cisco’s opinion.

“Line’s moving,” prompted the guy behind him.  He loomed over Cisco; obviously an upperclassman.

“Sorry,” said Cisco.  He paused for a moment to take the probably-a-senior in.  Was he wearing a parka indoors, in September?

The guy just raised an eyebrow and gave Cisco a bored look.  “Are you going to move sometime today?” he asked, not seeming terribly bothered either way.  All the same, there was a chill in the air that made something in Cisco’s brain kick into gear.

“Right!” he blurted.  “Sorry, dude.”  Cisco rapidly turned back around and moved forward in line to grab a lunch tray.  He made a mental note: don’t piss off people at superhero high school.

After wrestling his lunch from the clutches of the cafeteria staff – who were being super stingy with the macaroni, rude – Cisco scanned the mass of high schoolers for Barry and Iris.  He had been surprised when Iris asked him to sit with her and Barry at lunch; Cisco had always gotten the impression that Iris didn’t like him that much.  Admittedly, they had only ever seen each other when Barry had brought Cisco home after school.  Maybe he had read her wrong.  She certainly seemed like a friendly person, especially to Barry.

In the corner of his eye, Cisco caught sight of Barry waving him over.  God, his smile was like sunshine.  Iris was smiling too, but she seemed guarded.  Maybe, Cisco realized, she was just worried about him stealing her best friend.  She really didn’t have to worry, he knew, a pang shooting through his chest.  It was painfully obvious to Cisco that Barry loved her.

%%%

It was difficult to keep thinking about his dad with Iris and Cisco smiling at him.  It was also more than a little confusing.  This was why Barry hadn’t tried to get them to hang out together in middle school.

Barry had been in love with Iris for as long as he could remember.  They had known each other since kindergarten, when Barry’s parents had decided to tell him his dad was a superhero.  It had taken him a long time to get used to living with his crush after… everything, but he made it work.  Barry had long ago accepted that he’d love Iris forever, however he had to do that.

Then, Barry met Cisco.  Shortly after that, Barry had to look up bisexuality on Wikipedia (which was pretty awkward to do in the middle school library).  For a split second, Barry thought he might be gay – then he got home and Iris was sitting on the front porch.  There went that theory.

Over the course of eighth grade, Barry began to fall for Cisco and thought that maybe he’d be okay.  Whether with Cisco, or someone else, he could be happy with someone who wasn’t Iris.  Unfortunately, that thought completely left his head everytime he actually saw her.

Now, he was eating lunch with Iris.  And Cisco.  Being in the same room as the two of them made Barry’s head spin in a not completely unpleasant way.

“Barry? You there?” teased Iris, stealing a bite of his jello.

“Yeah,” he said, feeling a bit breathless.  “I’m here.”

“Good, ‘cause your lunch is under attack,” Cisco pointed out.

“What?”  Barry looked down at his food as Iris quickly set her fork down on her own tray.  Half of the jello was gone, as was a sizeable portion of his macaroni and cheese.  He looked over to his supposed best friend.  She was doing an excellent impression of innocence.  Then he felt his tray move.  Barry swiftly turned and saw Cisco take his pear.  “Dude!”

“You left an opening,” Cisco said with a shrug.

“Wha—”  His friends had betrayed him.  “Speedsters need calories!”

“Barry.  Dad made you pack, like, fifteen protein bars,” Iris replied.  She went for another bite of pasta.

Barry could have taken the tray, but instead he let his friends burgle him as he fought a smile.  “Guys, come on!” he protested half heartedly.  Iris and Cisco just laughed, looking at him fondly.  His heart swelled.  Honestly, Barry thought to himself, he was just glad they were getting along.  

%%%

“Ramon!”  The gym somehow seemed small when Coach Boomer called Cisco’s name.  “Get up here!”

Cisco groaned internally.  He already knew how this was going to go.  Hanging his head like he was going to his execution, Cisco walked up to the stage.

Boomer took a good look at him.  “Another Ramon.  You’re Adriana’s kid?”  Cisco just nodded in response.  “This should be good, then.  Show us what you got, Ramon,” Boomer prompted, clipboard and pen in position.

“My powers,” Cisco began, focusing on not freaking out over a stupid high school test, “they aren’t exactly… visible.  They’re…”  He tried to figure out how to explain “I can feel and interpret vibrations” in a way that didn’t sound insane.

“Spit it out, kid!” demanded Boomer.

“I can see things,” was the explanation Cisco settled on.  “I touch things and sometimes I can see images.”  Yeah, that was specific.  Thanks for playing, buddy.

“Right,” Coach Boomer said skeptically.  “Could you give us a demonstration?”

“I can’t always control it,” Cisco admitted.

“Can you use it offensively?” Boomer asked, making a note on his clipboard.  “Make things explode with your mind, or fly, or something?”

Cisco had known that question was coming.  “No.”

Coach Boomer looked up.  “Right,” he said, distinctly unimpressed.  “Sidekick!”

“Great,” muttered Cisco as he stepped down from the stage.

%%%

Iris watched Cisco make his way back to her and Barry.  He looked defeated.  Iris suddenly felt bad for being standoffish to him in middle school; she knew what it was like to not live up to the family name.  “Hey,” she said, getting his attention as he stood next to Barry.  “Just wait until I go up.  That should make you feel better.”

“What do you mean?” Cisco asked with a frown.  “Aren’t you—”

“Yeah, I’m a West,” Iris confirmed.  “Just wait and see.  It’s going to be good.”

“Iris…”  Barry watched her carefully.  “Maybe they’ll wait to place you until—”

“They won’t,” Iris said curtly.  “Sorry.”  She gave Barry an apologetic look.  “I’ve reached the acceptance stage.  I just want to get it over with.”

“Okay, I think I’m missing something,” Cisco interrupted.  “Clue me in?”

Barry looked lost, glancing between Iris and Cisco and not saying anything.  Iris felt kinda bad.  It wasn’t such a big deal, in the long run.  She breathed out, catching Cisco’s eyes.  “I don’t have—”

“West!”

Shit.  “Never mind.  No need to spoil the show,” Iris joked.  It sounded hollow even to her.

“It’ll be okay, Iris,” Barry assured her.  There was a hint of desperation in his eyes when they met hers.

“Today, West!” Boomer yelled impatiently.  Iris broke eye contact and walked to the front of the group, climbing up onto the platform.  “Alright, West, let’s go!  Lift something.”

“Um, actually, I don’t have any powers.  Yet.”  Iris shrugged, trying to come off like she wasn’t shaken to her core over not having received her powers yet.

Coach Boomer stared for a second before laughing.  “Oh, I get it,” he said.  “Playing a little joke on your teacher.  You’re just like your mother.  Car!”  He clicked a button on the end of his pen.

Iris dived off the stage.  A car came plummeting from the ceiling and landed right where she had been standing.  In an instant, Barry was by her side.  “Are you insane?” he shouted at Boomer, helping Iris to her feet.

“I’ve got it, Barr.”  Iris got back onto the stage.  “I don’t have super strength,” she explained.

“My bad,” said Coach Boomer.  “So you’re a flyer, like your mom.”  Another click of the pen.  Suddenly, Iris was thrust off her feet and flung to the other side of the gym.

Once again, Barry caught her, right before she could hit the wall.  “I can’t fly, either!” she cried, heart going a mile a minute.  Barry looked almost as panicked as Iris felt as he gave her a once over, making sure she wasn’t injured.

“Then what’s your power?” asked Boomer loudly.

“I don’t have one,” Iris replied, doing her best to appear calm.

Her classmates and the coach gaped.  “You… don’t have a superpower,” Boomer stated.

“No,” Iris said with a cringe.  “I don’t.”

There was a brief, sweet silence before—  “SIDEKICK!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next on "High School at Thirty-Thousand Feet"... more confused teenagers! School assignments! Maybe even some actual plot!
> 
> Oh, and I'll be adding characters/relationships to the fic as they appear. This is mainly Barriscowest, but there will be at least one more major poly relationship later (because I have no chill).


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this took me longer than I thought. I'm in school now, so I have a lot less time to write (also, I procrastinate a lot). Hopefully I can try to update once a month, at least... -_-;;;
> 
> I didn't really take much time to edit this because it took me so long to post it. I may be going back and editing small parts of this and chapter one in the next week, but I won't change anything major (probably just wording).

Iris found herself in the nurse’s office listening to an explanation about superpowers involving lollipops.  The nurse was going on about how sometimes, in rare cases, the children of two superheroes never developed any powers.  Iris wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be comforting to her or not.  “Do you know anyone that’s happened to?” she asked nervously.

“Only one,” the nurse assured her.  She had a kind smile.  It wasn’t helping Iris much at the moment, though.

“Who?”  She tried not to let her anxiety show.  Even though there had always been that lingering doubt at the back of her mind, Iris had never truly believed that she would never manifest powers.

The nurse gestured for her to come over to the window, and pointed out.  “There he is now,” she said, a pitying lilt to her voice.  “Ron Wilson, Bus Driver.”

Iris took a good look out the window.  Sure enough, it was Ron Wilson.  He had been nice to her on the bus that morning, going on about how he was proud to drive the Commander’s and Jetstream’s daughter to school.  He even gave her a business card.  Iris didn’t even know bus drivers carried business cards.  It was, honestly, a bit overwhelming.

“Best get to the bus now,” the nurse said gently, ushering her away from the window.  She gave a small wave as Iris left.

Walking down the hall to the front of the school, Iris had a little time to think.  She might end up like Ron, never developing powers – ever.  Obviously, someone was eventually going to have to let her dad in on this bit of information.  It would probably be best to head that off at the pass.

A cheerleader pushed past her, knocking Iris into a row of lockers.  “Watch where you’re going, freshman!”  “Fucking sidekicks,” her friend said as they walked away.

Putting a hand to her forehead, Iris leaned back against the lockers.  Maybe she could convince Barry to talk to Joe instead.

%%%

The door to the West house creaked open.  Barry spun around in his chair to see Joe closing it behind him.  “Hey, Joe.”

“Hey, kid,” Joe replied, grin bright.  “So?  How was your first day of high school?”  He was brimming with excitement, not even bothering to take off his coat before sitting on the couch next to Barry.

“Pretty good,” Barry said uncertainly.  “I didn’t realize they sorted us into heroes and sidekicks on the first day.”

“Yeah…”  Joe let out a sigh.  “It’s not a perfect system.  And they probably shouldn’t call the power focused track the “hero” class.”

Barry frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, come on, Barry,” said Joe.  “Not everyone in the hero class is going to be a superhero.  In the traditional sense, I mean.”  He got up briefly to shrug out of his coat and drape it over the armrest before relaxing back into the couch.  “Some of them will decide to use their power in a way that doesn’t involve fighting supervillains, or go in a different direction altogether.  And plenty of the so called sidekicks in the hero support class will end up being known as heroes.”

“So what you’re saying is, it’s only high school,” Barry surmised, “and we don’t have to base our entire lives on it.”

“Exactly,” Joe said, slinging an arm around Barry’s shoulder.  “Now where’s Iris?  I have something to show you two.”

“Actually, Iris had a pretty rough day,” Barry told him.

Joe’s enthusiasm faded as he adopted his patented look of parental concern.  “What happened?”

Barry hesitated, not wanting to give anything away.  If he told Joe that Iris didn’t have her powers yet, she would be beyond pissed; it would likely be the last thing Barry would ever do.  “Um, Coach Boomer thought she could fly, so he kind of catapulted her across the gym?”

“He what?!”

%%%

Iris wasn’t moping.  The sad music was Pandora’s idea, not hers.  She was just too tired from getting nearly crushed to death by a plummeting motor vehicle to get up and press skip.   
  
There was a rapid knocking on her door.  “Iris!”  It was Joe.  Great, the nurse probably called him.

Summoning just enough strength to push herself up and crawl out of bed, Iris made it to the door and pulled it open.  “Dad!” she responded, mimicking Joe’s tone.  “Is there an emergency, or are you trying to put a hole through my door?”

“I wouldn’t have to try, honey,” Joe informed her.  “Are you alright?  Barry told me Boomer threw you across the room.”

“I’m find, Dad,” she assured him, leaning on the door frame.  “Barry caught me, and it only took one try for Coach Boomer to figure out I couldn’t fly.”

“I’m going to call the school tomorrow,” Joe insisted.  “He had no business doing that.  I assume you told him you can’t fly?”

“Yes, Dad.”

Worry turned to rage on Joe’s face.  “I’m calling Principal Powers first thing tomorrow.  If Barry hadn’t been there, you could have been hurt.  A kid without your powers could have been killed!  It’s irresponsible—”

“Dad!” Iris interrupted, putting her hands out.  “Calm down.  I’m alive, and I am uninjured.  And I doubt he’ll—Actually, he’ll probably do it again.  Maybe you should call.”

“I’m going to.”

Iris gave him a thin smile.  “I know, Dad.”  She also knew Principal Powers would tell him that she didn’t have superpowers.  That probably wouldn’t improve his mood.

Joe opened his arms, gesturing slightly.  Iris stepped forward into the hug.  Somehow, Joe’s hugs never failed to help.  “C’mon,” Joe said quietly.  “I have something to show you and Barry.”

%%%

Cisco always found the first day of a new school disorienting.  He had all his books, his schedule, and he had to wake up at six in the morning, yet… no homework.  Sitting at his desk, Cisco leaned back in his swivel chair and wondered, now what?

There were thundering footsteps coming up the stairs.  The Rogues had arrived.  Dante usually skipped the bus and got a ride home with his friend Shauna, a teleporter, and she and her boyfriend would hang around the Ramon house and generally make Cisco’s life hell if he came out of his room.  Well, that wasn’t fair.  It was mostly Dante.

“Start up the game, Mark,” Cisco heard Dante shout from the stairs.  “One sec!”  Then Cisco’s brother was in his doorway, wearing a smug expression.  “I heard you made the sidekick class.  Congrats, man!  I’m surprised Coach Boomer let you in at all, but then, I also heard he let in someone with no powers at all, so… you lucked out, right?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Cisco started, getting up and walking toward the door, “I guess I did ‘luck out’ as you put it.  Oh, wait—”  And he slammed the door in Dante’s face.  Cisco locked it, then flopped down on his bed.  He could hear Dante laughing behind the door.

“You’re such a d-bag, Dante,” Shauna said out in the hall, muffled through wall.  Cisco didn’t dislike Shauna.  He wasn’t sure why she hung out with Dante, though.

He stared up at the ceiling.  While his Battlestar Galactica poster was insanely awesome, it didn’t do much to make him feel better about being a sidekick.  Cisco knew he shouldn’t let Dante get to him, but it really sucked that he couldn’t get a handle on his powers.  He knew he wasn’t tapping into them fully; he could feel something else thrumming in the earth, under his skin, all the time.  Every time Cisco tried to focus in on it, though, it was like he couldn’t sort through the noise.

God, he couldn’t wait until his mom got home.  How long could it possibly take to fight off an alien invasion in Antarctica?

%%%

The wall in the kitchen slid open to reveal four firehouse style poles, backlit somehow.  Iris couldn’t tell from where.  Two of them showed age, and two were polished and clearly brand new.  They were both engraved at the top, one reading “Iris” and one reading “Barry”.  “Holy shit,” Barry whispered reverently.

“Language,” scolded Joe.

“I’d like to second that, actually,” said Iris.  “Holy shit!”

Joe looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head.  “Teenagers.  This is what high school brings.”

“And us kids don’t understand the value of a dollar or a hard day’s work, we know,” Iris moaned, bumping her shoulder against Joe’s.  “We’ve heard the spiel.”

Barry wasn’t paying attention.  He was staring at the new gap in the wall that led down, into darkness.  “Your secret sanctum is five feet from where we eat breakfast,” he said with obvious disbelief.  “But… the windows.”

“That’s what the blinds are for, Barr,” Joe said.  He pushed the teens toward the fireman’s poles.  “Do you want to see the Sanctum or not?”

“Yes, please!” Iris urged, taking a step forward.

“Is there a password, or something?” Barry asked.

“No,” said Joe, “that’s what the biometric scanner is for.”  He walked up to the pole on the far left, gesturing for Iris and Barry to follow him.

Once they were down in the Sanctum, Iris couldn’t had to stop and stare.  Before them was a long hallway lined with pictures of heroes, framed news clippings of major crises, and souvenirs from victories.  Joe led her and Barry down the hall as they took in all of it, until they reached a door at the far end.

Joe turned the handle, and as he opened the door, said, “Welcome to the Secret Sanctum.”

“Whoa,” Barry gasped.

Iris walked into the middle of the room and did a full three hundred and sixty degree turn.  “This is a game room.”

“Wha— This is a hallowed—”  Joe sputter, waving a hand out across the open space.  “It’s—”  He let his arm drop.  “Okay, it’s a game room.  Sue me, when we built the place, we wanted to have some fun.”  There was a wistful sort of smile on his face.

Iris didn’t say anything, and stood back while Joe showed off the vintage pinball machines to Barry.  She knew that by “we” Joe meant him, Francine, and Henry.  Back before Iris’s mother passed, and before the Comet was convicted of murder, the three of them were a team.  Joe rarely talked about Francine, and he never brought up Barry’s father at all.  Iris knew her dad was sure Henry was guilty.  Barry had never accepted that.

“Iris, check it out!” Barry called.  “There’s a Doctor Who one!”

“I can see that,” Iris replied with a laugh.  Instead of checking out the pinball machines, or the pool table, or whatever the hell that holographic orange thing was, Iris took in the tech lined up along the walls.  There was a massive monitor stretched across the far wall with a terminal to match.  Screens streaming surveillance of downtown Central City and Iron Heights were embedded amidst wires and multi colored constellations of blinking lights.  In fact, one of the screens— “Is that the school gym?”

Joe grinned and turned his attention to where Iris was pointing.  “It is!” he confirmed.  “I snuck it in this summer when I went on a ‘tour’.  I just wanted to be able to watch you and Barry play ‘Save the Citizen’!  I was the reigning champion while I was in school.”

“You and my dad?” Barry asked quietly.

“Yeah, kid,” Joe replied, assuming a more somber expression.  “Me and Henry.”

There was a tension in the air.  It was always there when Henry came up, and Iris didn’t want her father and best friend to get into it.  The day had been awful enough without opening that can of worms.  “So, Barry, has Dad told you about Save the Citizen yet?”

Barry perked up a little.  “You know, I think he has!” he said, playing along.  “Something about it being—”

“The greatest game ever invented?”

“Yeah, that!  A game of skill—”

“Of smarts!  Of—”

“Alright, alright,” Joe said, waving them away and going to turn off that particular monitor.  “I may have mentioned it a few times.”

Iris scoffed.  “A few times?  Try every day for the past, let’s see, my entire life?”  Barry nodded in agreement.

“I can’t help it,” Joe explained, “I’m a dad.  I want to watch my two heroes show the other kids how it’s done!”  Pride shone on Joe’s face as he came over and pulled Iris and Barry in, an arm around each of them.

It was too much.  Iris could feel the guilt wriggling around in her chest, desperate to find its way out.  “Dad…”  How was she going to break this to him?  “I… I’m not.”  Iris felt Barry take her hand behind Joe’s back, and squeeze.

Joe loosened his grip, and looked at Iris with concern.  “You’re not what?” he asked.  “What’s wrong, honey?”

She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself.  “I’m not a hero, Dad,” said Iris.  “I’m in hero support.  I’m a sidekick.”

%%%

Cisco was really starting to regret upgrading Dante’s speakers.  Their dad wasn’t home from work yet, and the clashing sounds of Call of Duty and Shawna cursing at Cisco’s brother weren’t terribly conducive to focus.  For Dante’s next birthday, Cisco would build sound canceling headphones.  For himself.

A loud crash and a burnt ozone scent indicated that Mark had powered up.  Cisco figured it was time to vacate the premises.

Taking his laptop and notebook downstairs, Cisco opened the front door to find the guy from the lunch line standing on his front porch.  He was flanked by a tall, muscley kinda guy with a serious glare going on, and a girl closer to Cisco’s age wearing a leather jacket and a smirk.  “Can I help you?” Cisco asked, doing his best not to look intimidated.

Judging by the appearance of the same bored look he had given Cisco before, it didn’t seem like lunch line guy was buying it.  “I assume that Dante’s home.”  A victorious bellow resounded from an open window.

“That’s… a safe assumption,” Cisco confirmed.  He waited a moment to see if Dante’s visitor would elaborate, then stepped aside when it became clear no further explanation was forthcoming.

The guy—who was wearing the same parka he had been at school, on a perfectly sunny day—pushed past him, along with the very, very buff dude.  They paused for a moment when the girl didn’t follow them.  “Lisa?” prompted parka guy.

The girl, Lisa, gave a little half shrug.  “I’m good,” she said casually, eyes lingering on Cisco briefly.

Parka guy only paused for a second before continuing into the house.  Glarey McMuscles followed, shutting the door behind him.  “That was a completely normal way to introduce yourself,” Cisco snarked the second he heard the latch click.  “Don’t say who you are, don’t say why you’re here, just, ‘hey, where’s your dick brother,’ and walk right in!”  He set his laptop on the porch and went to sit down on the front steps.

Cisco could hear the light, sharp sound of Lisa’s boots behind him.  “He didn’t call Dante a dick,” she said, standing beside Cisco and looking down at him.  There was a mischievous curve to her lips.  “He is a dick, though.”

“Your friend?” Cisco deadpanned.

Lisa let out a short laugh.  “Brother, actually.  And yeah, him too.”  A less guarded, genuine kind of smile flickered across her face, but it left as quickly as it came.  She leaned up against the railing of the stairs.  “Guess we both have dick brothers.  I’m Lisa, but I suppose you know that.  Cisco, right?  Dante’s mentioned you.”

“Can’t say the same,” Cisco replied.

“That’s too bad,” said Lisa.  “I’m extremely interesting.”

Cisco couldn’t help but grin a little.  God help him, she was funny, even if she set off a blaring alarm in his head crying, “danger!”  He didn’t move to stop her when she grabbed his notebook and tore out a blank piece of paper.  “So you and your brother have never been over here before.  Why does he need to see Dante?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.  And we have been over.”  Lisa was folding the paper up precisely and easily.  “Just at hours when goody-goodies like you are asleep.”

“Goody-goody?” Cisco asked, vaguely affronted.  “I’m not—”

“Oh, you definitely are,” said Lisa, tugging gently at what was turning out to be a origami lotus.  “Don’t worry.”  As she finished the lotus, it turned a metallic gold color in her hands.  “It’s cute.”  She handed the flower to Cisco.

“Um, I,” he stammered as he took the small lotus from her.  It was a bit heavier than paper, but not by much.  “I don’t—”

Lisa threw her head back, bright laughter filling the air.  “Relax, freshman.  I’m not hitting on you… much,” she said with a wink.

%%%

Joe gripped Iris’s shoulders gently, a reassuring smile on his face.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.  “You can’t imagine I would be anything but proud of you?”

“I know, it was stupid, I just—”  Iris looked away, curling in on herself.  “I should have told you before… about the other thing.”

“Tell me about what?” Joe narrowed his eyes.  “You’re not on drugs?”

“Dad, what?  No.”

“Pregnant?”

“Dad!” Iris protested, laughing.

“Well then,” Joe continued, eyes twinkling, “what could possibly be so bad you couldn’t tell your old man?”

“Dad…”  Iris looked, and felt, defeated.  She thought she wouldn’t have to deal with this, that she could just… wait until it happened.  But it never did.  “I don’t have any powers.”  And maybe she never would, Iris thought.

“Oh, baby,” said Joe, pulling Iris back into a hug.  “You’ll get your powers, don’t you worry.  And hey, if you don’t, you can always train with Bruce.”

Iris pulled back briefly, frowning.  “Who?”

Joe paused, opened his mouth as if to speak, then appeared to change his mind.  “Never mind,” he replied, finally.  “But the point is, powers aren’t what makes a hero.  I was just talking to Barry about this.  You know, a lot of sidekicks go off on their own after graduation—”

“Not another lecture, please,” Iris begged.

“It was pretty interesting, actually,” Barry piped up from across the room.

“Barry, what are you—”  Iris motioned for him to come back over.  “It’s group hug time, read the room.”

Barry shook his head and grinned, following Iris’s direction.  “My bad.”

“Get in here,” Joe demanded, and Iris and Barry let themselves be smothered.  “My aspiring heroes.  The two of you are going to save the world, and I mean that literally.  Wait ‘til you hear what Aftershock is dealing with in Antarctica right now.”

%%%

Though he had originally come outside to work on one of his projects, Cisco was enjoying getting to know Lisa.  She was sharp, and witty, and funny, and really, really flirty, but Cisco was pretty sure she wasn’t being serious.  Or maybe she was, but he was already preoccupied with a hopeless crush on his completely oblivious friend, so…

“So, Star Wars is the one with the guy with the pointed ears and the bowl cut, right?” Lisa asked absently, her head tilted back.  She was trying to balance a pencil across her nose.

“What—no!” Cisco squawked, brow furrowing and arms gesturing wildly.  “Mr. Spock isn’t in Star Wars, that’s Star Trek!”

Lisa frowned.  “No, that’s the one with the gate.”

Cisco gasped, genuinely horrified.  “That—no, absolutely not, that is Stargate, and I cannot _believe_ —”

“Cisco!” Lisa interrupted.  She was laughing just slightly, a little wickedly, and holding her hands up in surrender.  “I’m messing with you,” she said, bending down slightly to retrieve the pencil she had dropped.  “My brother is a huge Star Wars geek.  It’s actually very annoying.  He tried to threaten a senior last year with a Boba Fett reference, though, which was hilarious.”

“Wait, hold up,” said Cisco.  “You’re telling me your badass brother—Leonard Snart, legendary tough guy—is a Star Wars nerd?  The mystique is ruined!”  He threw his arms dramatically towards the sky.

“You didn’t even know his name until ten minutes ago,” Lisa pointed out, one eyebrow raised.  Oh yeah, she and parka guy—Leonard—were definitely related.

Shifting to lean back on his other arm, Cisco glanced over at Lisa.  There was so much more information he required.  “So, why do you call yourselves the Rogues?”

“I think one of Lenny’s teachers said something when they all got in trouble once, I wasn’t there,” Lisa explained.  “My brother’s such a dork; he liked the sound of it, and it just stuck.”

“And his friend, the one built like a wall, that’s—”

“Mick.”

Cisco nodded.  “Got it.”

Lisa looked at him curiously.  “Why are we playing twenty questions, exactly?” she asked, and Cisco could practically see the wall going back up.  “Looking to start your own wannabe super squad?”

“What?  No, I just—”  That was when the door behind them opened, startling Cisco out of finishing his defense.

Leonard walked up, Mick in tow, and stopped behind Lisa.  “Ready to go?”  It was phrased like a question, but Cisco got the impression this guy was used to giving commands.

Lisa rolled her eyes in response, hopping up from her perch on the front steps.  “Everything set?”

“Dante will take care of it.”  Leonard briefly met Cisco’s suspicious gaze, then walked down the steps and towards the sidewalk.

Mick and Lisa exchanged a glance.  “He and Mardon got into it,” said Mick, sounding exasperated.

“Of course he did,” Lisa replied.  “Better make sure he doesn’t power up in the middle of suburbia central.”

“On it.”  And Mick left, not once acknowledging Cisco’s presence.

“Wow.”  Cisco turned to Lisa.  “They are a delight.”

“You have to get to know them,” Lisa said.  “I should go with them.  See you later, Cisco.”  The last part was delivered with an over-the-top, sultry tone, and a wink.

“Bye,” Cisco replied a little helplessly.  He knew she was kidding, but still.

Lisa had only taken a few steps away from the house when she turned back around.  “Hey, Cisco?”  She gave him a small smile.  “I was in the sidekick class at first too.  You’ll be fine.”

Unsure how to respond, Cisco watched Lisa walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I might get to the plot? Yeah, no. Like... a tiny hint, but not even, really. I promise there is one, and that I will get to it eventually. As I said last chapter, constructive criticism is welcome! I know parts of this are probably worded weirdly, and I wasn't super sure I was hitting the right notes with Lisa? Let me know what you think.
> 
> Next on "High School at Thirty-Thousand Feet"... I dunno, second day of school, probably?


End file.
